Laurie McCarthy – Reign – Comic Con 2014

Interview By: Lynsey Tamborello

Q) We understand that Mary and Catherine are still going to go at it. How are they going to come together or not together with this plague?

A) It’s not a season of the plague. The plague is going to come and go, but it is the first test of leadership. Francis has left the court so then the power goes to Mary. It’s a time for ruthless decisions and no one makes them better than Catherine. I think Mary know sit. The first episode is very much about trying to contain the plague and Mary is going to realize that one of the things she needs to contain more than the plague is Catherine. They have a great understanding of one another. Catherine raised her when she was younger, too. What was really between them in the first season was Catherine’s conviction that Mary would cost her son his life. Catherine is no longer entirely convinced of that. So, now it is just a personality conflict between them. It’s going to take some adjustment for Catherine to realize she is not the queen anymore. The episode where you kind of see Mary sitting on the throne and Catherine takes the king’s throne – it kind of says everything. And Mary is okay with it. She’s a smart woman who takes help wherever she can find it and Catherine is helpful.

Q) Are we going to see Catherine take Mary under her wing and Mary become more like Catherine?

A) I think Mary is not looking to climb underneath anyone’s wing. I think you will still see a push-pull dynamic between the two of them. They will butt heads and Mary will be more tolerant of the rise of Protestantism. Catherine is going to feel that it is not a wise choice. They are always concerned about Francis. It’s really a haunted season for Francis, who carries a lot of guilt and shame into it. So, there are plenty of things for them to be conflicted about. One of the things I love about Catherine, for instance, is she is this great villainous who turns out that she loves babies. She kind of considers Lola (Anna Popplewell) as a vessel. She just loves that child. You kind of never know what you are going to get with Catherine. Sometimes Mary will run afoul of it and sometimes she won’t.

Q) With the plague, will we see more outsiders coming in?

A) Initially, we are playing it as a contagion. So, they are going to lockdown the castle walls. But I think as you all saw, it’s a little bit too late. After that, the court is really going to need the surrounding regions and the nobles to provide grain, money and an army to them. Because of the plague this season there will be a famine that follows that because people just can’t tend to the lands. So, they are looking to the nobles for their rule.

Q) What can you tease about some new characters coming in to the show?

A) There are a couple characters coming in. There are other offspring of Catherine who we will get to see this season. Francis said he had sisters and younger brothers. You have heard them referenced, but we haven’t met them yet. There will be a face to the rise of Protestantism, a guy named Prince Conde. He is played by an actor named Sean Teale. There is a new leading man named Stefan Narcisse who is kind of the face of the old guard (although he is not old, he’s very sexy) who is tied to the corrupt sect of the Catholic church, who has a death grip on the region. There characters will then get involved with Mary and her ladies and Catherine in many different ways.

Q) Will there be a new rival for Greer’s heart?

A) You’ll see what happens…I love Greer (Celina Sinden). I love Castleroy (Michael Therriault) as well. What I love about that dynamic is that everybody is well intentioned. You could argue that both Castleroy and Leith (Jonathan Keltz) are really good choices for Greer. The stakes get very high in that story fast.

Q) Will the fake Lord Julien return?

A) I’m not sure. I don’t know. I’m toying with the notion of it, but I don’t know yet.

Q) You have teased there will be a little more sex this season. How are you going to top Season 1?

A) There is a lot of sex last season. We are looking to top it a little bit, but I thought the best sex scenes came out of the stories like the king going mad and the realit of the time, which was the consummation scene. But we still have characters that are young and vital and looking for freedom. They can find freedom in their erotic lives. So, we’ll be exploring that in an ongoing basis. It’s also about power. With women are so disempowered at the time, sex is a tool. It’s a power for women and also a tool for women to have power over men.